Saturday was a big day for Samantha Rajack. The Toronto woman got to pet her first cow while visiting Guelph. She also got to absorb some good, strong barn smells while meandering through the University of Guelph dairy barns at College Royal 2016.
“This is really exciting for me,” said Rajack. “I’m an animal lover. Now, the smells are a concern. My hair is going to smell a little like barn.”
People in the thousands flocked to campus Saturday for the university’s annual showcase of all things agricultural, veterinary, biological, and more. There were live animals as small rabbits and as large as horses, numerous displays on food facts, demonstrations of horticultural know-how, and a host of classrooms transformed into scientific curiosity displays.
Run entirely by students, College Royal is the university’s largest annual event, and the largest even of its kind in North America. This year is the 92nd. It continues throughout the day Sunday.
Nancy Harper, a regional dairy educator for the Dairy Farmers of Ontario, was a very popular person at the event on Saturday morning. She was making and giving away ice cream. Supplies were going fast.
Educating the public about where their food comes from is important, she said.
“These days, people are getting more and more disconnected from where their food is coming from,” she said, suggesting we take our food, its abundance and availability for granted.
“Even something as simple as ice cream, which is really easy to make, is not well understood,” she said.
Knowing where food comes from, and how it is made, helps us better understand the impact food production has on the environment, and what is required to make our food supply sustainable, she indicated.
Kim Wilson and her two children, Scott and Briar, were captivated by a model of a modern farm in the Summerlee Science Complex. Wilson grew up on a farm, but her kids grew up in the city. She wants them to know what goes on in the rural world.
“I understand that a farm is the source of our food,” she said. “But my kids rarely get that experience.”
College Royal gives urban families a glimpse behind the scenes of agriculture, while providing great exposure for what U of G does, she said.
Second year molecular biology and genetics student Geordie Lees was giving those families a glimpse into the fascinating world of fruit DNA extraction, a process using basic ingredients like soap, salt, and ethanol to pull DNA strands from liquefied fruit like strawberry or banana.
“In the laboratory we’re most interested in changing the formation of that DNA, swapping out little parts and making it slightly different,” Lees said. “The possibilities are absolutely incredible.”
The field of genetics will play a significant role in humanity’s future, he said. Acquiring knowledge about it enriches people’s lives.
Attracting several thousand people each year, College Royal began years before the University of Guelph was established. It is the largest university open house event of its kind in North America.
Sunday is another full day of activities. There’s a dog show beginning at 9 a.m. in the Athletic Centre, and running throughout the day. There’s a junior tractor rodeo outside at Rozanski Hall, and a cat show inside. There’s a juggling show and a tug of war, and many more science displays.
Visit http://www.collegeroyalsociety.com/ to learn more about what’s happening.